Where to find London Olympics travel packages

If you're one of the lucky few who obtained tickets to the biggest sporting event in the world, you are now likely thinking about travel and accommodations. You'll find scores of London Olympics travel packages strewn about the internet, but be careful. Some of these outlets might be scams.

The official site of the London Olympics has a page devoted to educating travelers about scams. According to the organisers, a number of email scams exist to trick folks into providing their personal and financial information. These come in the form of emails, entitled, 'Olympic Tickets Ballot,' '2012 Ticket Promo,' and even one email that attempts to fool you into thinking that it's from the Olympics Ticketing Team. This email is the 'London 2012 Olympic Games ticket application update.' You can find more about these scams at: http://www.london2012.com/about-this-website/stay-safe-online.php.

Don't purchase tickets from someone who contacts you out of the blue purporting to be a ticketing agent affiliated with London 2012. Unless they can provide ample proof that they are legitimate, chances are, they're frauds out to take your money or your identity.

Your best course of action is to go the safe route, of course. Thomas Cook is one of the most reliable travel agencies in the UK, and Thomas Cook Sport is the official provider of short 'Game Breaks' travel packages for the 2012 London Olympics. At the moment, offerings include a £329 per person athletics ticket and hotel packages. You can also get a £99 per person football and hotel package. Find these and other packages at: http://www.thomascooksport.com/London-2012-Games.

Ludus is another agency that is the official tour operator of several nations' sports teams, including the United States' weight lifters and synchronised swimming team. If you want to take a tour, Ludus offers London Olympics packages ranging from three days up to ten days, including entry into special events and the opportunity to meet and greet some of the athletes competing in the games. Tickets for the three-day tours start at $995 USD and go up to $7,299 for the ten day tour staying in the Hotel 41. Keep in mind, however, these tours may not include tickets to the actual athletic events. Find out more about Ludus' offerings at: http://trackandfieldtours.com/whats_included.html

London 2012 keeps a list of official ticketing outlets that sell packages for the athletic events and hotel accommodations here: http://www.tickets.london2012.com/nocatr.html#europe. This is a list of all official outlets authorised by the Olympics organisers to sell tickets to athletic events. Remember, when looking for travel accommodations, keep in mind that just because you get a travel package with the Olympics label, does not necessarily mean you'll have access to the events.